Card wars hotting up

American financial giant Morgan Stanley Dean Witter looks set to shake up the British credit card market next month by launching two new cards which it claims will undercut anything currently available in the UK.

A media blitz accompanying the launch begins early next month as the firm takes its consumer credit card operation outside the US for the first time and enters the British market as the first phase of an assault on Europe.

The British operation will create 1000 jobs over the next three to five years at a new card headquarters in Cumbernauld, Scotland, with the company initially offering a classic card and a platinum version issued under the MasterCard network. The cards will carry the Morgan Stanley Dean Witter name but not Discover as in the US where the firm has issued 47 million cards to become the fourth largest issuer.

Interest charges will differ between the two cards but a spokesman said the introductory offer will see rates at the lower end of the market, no annual fee, low cost of transference of outstanding card balances and a cashback scheme that rewards frequent use.

'It would suggest we are well positioned even in a very crowded and difficult market to come in with a competitive product,' said a spokesman.

Card processing is being handled by Experian and the cards are being produced by Gemplus.